Doctors in California town offer free health care, as long as you 'pay it forward'

Thursday

Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2009 at 7:38 PM

With all the verbal sparring going on these days about health care reform, health care providers in one Northern California town are ready to make their own statement. Beginning Sunday, primary care providers in the Volunteers For Health Care Today program will be offering their services free to residents who don’t have health insurance. There has to be a catch, you say? Not exactly a catch, only a request to “pay it forward.”

Steve Gerace

With all the verbal sparring going on these days about health care reform, health care providers in one Northern California town are ready to make their own statement.

Beginning Sunday, primary care providers in the Volunteers For Health Care Today program will be offering their services free to residents who don’t have health insurance.

There has to be a catch, you say?

Not exactly a catch, only a request to “pay it forward.”

Patients who receive free health care services will simply be asked to volunteer in their community in whatever ways they see fit and on their own schedule.

Spearheaded by Dr. Jim Parker of Mount Shasta and Scott Holland of the Lake Shastina area, the overriding goal of the new program is to spread good will.

“There is no red tape involved as we treat your bronchitis and you rake the leaves of your neighbor. To me that is exciting. We simply do no more than serve each other,” Parker said.

When presented with the VHC Today concept, Parker said health care providers in the area, including doctors, physician assistants, family nurse practitioners and nurses, were “near-unanimous” in their support and willingness to participate.

VHC Today is not currently a non-profit or for-profit organization or a legal entity of any kind. Each provider, when her or his turn comes to hold VHC Today office hours, will do so as a branded extension of their regular practice using their own staff members.

Services provided through VHC Today will be limited to some extent and will not include treatment of chronic conditions or non-emergency pain relief. If serious conditions are suspected, patients without health insurance will be referred to local sources who can assist them in identifying government programs or to sliding scale clinics.

Parker said he initially came up with the idea of offering free health care when he was considering ways he could “make a difference.”

He said his brother, a kidney specialist, initially suggested connecting the free health care with the "pay it forward" idea.

Holland cites Parker for helping to restore his health after struggling with Lyme disease. When he heard about Parker’s idea of providing medical services at no monetary charge for those who have no health insurance, Holland offered to help.

In exchange for Parker’s generosity, Holland says he has paid it forward by volunteering his effort for VHC Today for the past 10 months.